Line #15 Creator/BruceLee


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bruce_lee.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:250:[[FunnyBruceLeeNoises WooooOOOOOOO-WAAAAAH!]]]]
3
4	->''"I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once. But I fear the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times."''
5
6	Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan (李振藩), November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) is the quintessential martial arts film star, particularly for action films set in contemporary times, a breakthrough star for Asian actors in Hollywood and is widely considered one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century.
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8	Born in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco on the 27th of November 1940 (in a Year of and at the hour of the Dragon, appropriately), he was raised in Kowloon, Hong Kong. His father Lee Hoi Chuen was a famous Cantonese opera performer, while his mother was the adopted daughter of Ho Kom-tong, the maternal half-brother of Ho Fook [[note]]grandfather of casino and shipping magnate Stanley Ho[[/note]] and Robert Ho Tung. He had a strong command of English that helped him break away from the "halted Asian accent" stereotype and had the lean good looks to match any action star. He was trained in martial arts first by his father, and then by the Wing Chun grandmaster UsefulNotes/IpMan. His skill as a martial artist doesn't mean he was a slouch in intellectual matters, though, as Lee studied drama at the University of Washington, and also studied extensively philosophy, psichology and other subjects there.
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10	He married Linda Emery, who was one of his martial art students, in 1964 and had two children with her, Brandon and Shannon. His brother, Robert Lee Jun-fai, is a musician and producer of the 2010 film ''Bruce Lee, My Brother''.
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12	His first real break came when he was cast as Kato in ''Series/TheGreenHornet'' TV series as a BattleButler. Kato became a BreakoutCharacter; in Asia, the show was [[MarketBasedTitle renamed]] ''The Kato Show''. Lee auditioned for the leading role in ''Series/KungFu1972'' but lost to Creator/DavidCarradine for several reasons including race and accent. He also developed a television series, Ah Sahm, later retitled ''The Warrior'', that he intended to star in, but after the success of ''Film/TheBigBoss'', he focused on his movie career. His original concept would finally be produced in as ''Series/Warrior2019'' on Creator/{{Cinemax}}. Returning to Hong Kong, Lee proceeded a series of acclaimed and extremely popular martial arts films there that foster a strong international fanbase for Asian MartialArtsMovie films until he was made an international star with the (internationally-produced) ''Film/EnterTheDragon''.
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14	''Time'' named Lee a person of the 20th century as the shining example of personal improvement through physical fitness, and he is universally recognized as one of the ultimate film star "tough guys", as well as one who was also a spiritual GeniusBruiser in real life. He achieved this status with only one TV series, a scattering of TV guest appearances, and five martial arts films done in his adulthood, one of which (''[[Film/GameOfDeath The Game of Death]]'') was unfinished by the time of his death. The affectionate biographical film ''Film/DragonTheBruceLeeStory'', where he was played by Jason Scott Lee (no relation), suggests that his success in America helped to reduce the offensive levels of the Engrish-speaking, AsianAndNerdy, and [[AsianRudeness rude Asian]] stereotypes -- though Lee's work did help grow the AllAsiansKnowMartialArts stereotype as a result.
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16	Lee was, and still is, a revered figure in the world of martial arts. He espoused a CombatPragmatist fighting style and favored crosstraining between diffent martial arts to acquire their best points, tenets through which he created his own approach, Jeet Kune Do (Way of the Intercepting Fist). This style and the philosophy behind it (the most well-known tenet being "absorb what is useful") has led some to call him the founding father of UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts, though the sentiment is hardly unanimous. The popularity of ''nunchaku'' ("nunchuks") is directly tied to his use of them in several films, including ''Enter the Dragon''. He also used the knowledge gleamed from his philosophical studies to write a book about the philosophy behind his martial art. In short, this Asian man embodied the Greek ideal of having a sound mind in a sound body. He trained several people in Jeet Kune Do, including basketball star Creator/KareemAbdulJabbar, Creator/GeorgeLazenby, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/LeeMarvin, Creator/{{Steve McQueen\|Actor}}, Creator/SharonTate, and Creator/RomanPolanski.
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18	His experience in martial arts was varied, including but not limited to boxing, UsefulNotes/WingChun, UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling, UsefulNotes/{{Eskrima}}, UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}, UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} and a long list of Chinese styles. Moreover, Lee was said to be a DanceBattler, since he was both a badass WarriorPoet ''and'' an award-winning cha-cha-cha dancer.
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20	Lee died tragically young (32 years old) on the 20th of July 1973, reportedly from a cerebral edema caused by an allergic reaction to an ingredient in an equagesic painkiller. He was on his way to have dinner with his friend George Lazenby when he decided to take a nap, but he never woke up and was pronounced dead in the hospital. His sudden death combined with his young age sparked urban legends about the "true" cause of his death -- these range from suicide to his being a target of the [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triads]]. Much like Music/ElvisPresley, there are those who believe he [[ElvisLives faked his own death]]. His death devastated the Hong Kong film industry to the point where producers began casting numerous {{Bruce Lee Clone}}s in their movies; they hoped that audiences starved for more Bruce Lee would simply accept the poor imitations. [[EpicFail While, by and large, it didn't work]], there are a few renowned martial arts stars who managed to get their first break during this period (notably Creator/JetLi and Creator/JackieChan, the latter of which worked as a stuntman in ''Fist of Fury'' and ''Enter the Dragon'').
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22	As a tragic postscript to his life, his son, [[Creator/BrandonLee Brandon]], [[FatalMethodActing died from a prop gun accident]] on the set of ''Film/TheCrow1994''. On a happier note, his daughter Shannon became an actress and a martial artist.
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24	He is the TropeNamer for BruceLeeClone, DontThinkFeel, and FunnyBruceLeeNoises.
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26	[[foldercontrol]]
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28	[[folder:Notable roles:]]
29	* ''Series/TheGreenHornet'': Kato
30	* ''Series/Batman1966'': Kato (in three {{Crossover}} episodes with the Green Hornet)
31	* ''Series/Ironside1967'': Leon Soo (episode "Tagged For Murder'')
32	* ''Film/{{Marlowe}}'': Winslow Wong
33	* ''ComicStrip/Blondie1930'': Mr. Yoto, Karate Instructor (episode "Pick on a Bully Your Own Size")
34	* ''Series/HereComeTheBrides'': Lin Sung (episode "Marriage Chinese Style")
35	* ''Series/{{Longstreet}}'': Li Tsung (in four episodes)
36	* ''Film/TheBigBoss'': Cheng Chao-an
37	* ''Film/FistOfFury'': Chen Zhen
38	* ''Film/WayOfTheDragon'': Tang Lung [[note]] Lee directed this film, and it's the only one he fully directed. He was also the original director of ''Game of Death'', but he DiedDuringProduction leaving Robert Clouse, the director of ''Enter the Dragon'', to finish it. [[/note]]
39	* ''Film/EnterTheDragon'': Lee [[note]] His most iconic role and the last film Lee was able to complete. He died only six days before this film was released in theaters. This also means this is the only main Bruce Lee film to be distributed by one of the major Hollywood studios, Creator/WarnerBros, and the only one to not be distributed by Creator/MiramaxFilms stateside at some point. [[/note]]
40	* ''Film/GameOfDeath'': Hai Tien/Billy Lo [[note]] This is the last film to have Bruce Lee directly involved at all; he died during this movie's production and it was completed with a totally new storyline using stock footage of Lee along with some rather egregious tricks. ''Game of Death'' was delayed by 5 years because of Lee's death and two stand-ins had to be used. [[/note]]
41	* ''Film/TowerOfDeath'' a.k.a. ''Game of Death II'': Lee Chen-chiang/Billy Lo [[note]] In actuality, Lee had nothing to do with this movie, made 8 years after his death. The film merely used stock footage of Lee from ''Enter the Dragon'', but at least one DVD still bills him as the star, which was called out by [[Creator/JamesRolfe the Bullshit Man]] in his ''You Know What's Bullshit'' series. The film also has nothing to do with the first ''Game of Death''; it was only the international English dub which changed the character's name to Billy Lo. However, the (real) star of the film does happen to be the same actor who served as the main stand-in for Lee in the first ''Game of Death''. [[/note]]
42	[[/folder]]
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44	[[folder:Works he's been portrayed in:]]
45	[[AC:Film]]
46	* The first film to feature Bruce as a character is the Hong Kong film ''Fist of Unicorn'' (1973, released a few months before his death), in which he has a cameo, portrayed by an unknown actor.
47	* Creator/DannyLee Sau-yin (no relation) played Bruce in the 1976 Shaw Brothers film ''Bruce Lee and I'' (also known as ''Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights'').
48	* He's portrayed by Creator/JasonScottLee (no relation) in ''Film/DragonTheBruceLeeStory'' (1993). His daughter Shannon had a cameo.
49	* He is played by Aarif Rahman in ''Film/BruceLeeMyBrother'' (2010), which was produced by his younger brother Robert.
50	* A fictional version of a young Lee Jun-fan (nicknamed "Siu Lung") appears in the ''Film/{{Ip Man\|Film Series}}'' film series, which is {{very loosely based\|on a true story}} on the life of Lee's martial arts master, Yip Man. He's played by Jiang Daiyan as a child in ''Film/IpMan2'' (2010) and by [[invoked]][[DawsonCasting 40-something year old]] Danny Chan Kwok-Kwan as a young man in ''Film/IpMan3'' (2013) and ''Film/IpMan4'' (2019).
51	* Philip Ng Wan-lung played him in ''Film/BirthOfTheDragon'' (2016).
52	* He's played by Creator/MikeMoh in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'' (2019). His scene proved [[https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2019-08-14/why-is-the-bruce-lee-scene-in-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-controversial/ quite controversial]].
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54	[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
55	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': In the microfiction vignette [[https://www.jim-butcher.com/the-good-people "The Good People"]] Mortimer Lindquist's reaction to an agent of winter breaking into his house on Christmas Eve is to channel Bruce Lee's spirit and beat the thing half to death. A very understandable reaction given the Winter Court's usual behavior.
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58	!!Tropes associated with Bruce Lee's body of work include:
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61	%% REMEMBER TO TROPE THE CREATOR'S WORKS, NOT HIS LIFE
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64	* TheAce: All his characters are excellent at everything they put their hands to.
65	* ActionFashionista: His only turn as an antagonist is when he played Winslow Wong in ''Marlowe'' in two different but equally stylish suits.
66	* ActionHero: His standard character is a mighty martial artist.
67	* AllAsiansKnowMartialArts: TropeCodifier. His works were one of the biggest triggers of the creation of the "Asian martial artist" stereotype, and helped bring martial arts into mainstream Western cinema.
68	* AllYourPowersCombined: He created Jeet Kune Do by taking elements from a variety of other martial arts such as boxing, Karate, Wing Chun, Judo, Wrestling, Tai Chi, Hapkido, Taekwondo and Kickboxing and added his own spin on them to make them more suitable for real-life combat situations.
69	* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: In spite of his reputation as the world's greatest martial artist, Lee's movies feature a lot of this. He admitted that jumping high kicks are only good for movies, and he would never use them in a real fight. On the other hand, Lee's films did not rely on the WireFu and hyperactive pace that was strongly associated with the genre at the time.
70	* AsianAndNerdy: He also does a bit of it in ''Fist of Fury'', when he impersonates a telephone repairman to infiltrate the enemy headquarters. As the Podcast/{{Rifftrax}} guys point out, he seems like a Chinese man doing Creator/JerryLewis doing a Chinese man.
71	* BigOlEyebrows
72	* BittersweetEnding: Characters played by Bruce tend not to have happy endings. Of the four films Lee starred in, the happiest ending his character got was a SaveTheDayTurnAway.
73	* BloodUpgrade: Blood is a mainstay in his fight scenes. Drawing blood from Bruce Lee's character tends to end poorly for his opponents.
74	* BMovie: His early movies were treated as B-movies in America. That soon changed.
75	* BrieferThanTheyThink: His film career included work as a child and teenager, as well as many bit parts in Hong Kong, but he only starred in four complete films over a three-year period (plus ''Game of Death'', which was unfinished) as an adult.
76	* BringIt: Common in his movies, and frequently homaged.
77	* BullyingADragon: His characters are challenged to fights frequently in spite of being a skilled martial artist.
78	* CombatPragmatist: Lee often staged his fight scenes to show his character's more fluid and practical moves in comparison to an enemy's formalized and rigid movements based on tradition rather than functionality, which reflected his own personal philosophy on martial arts.
79	* TheComicallySerious: Once or twice. [[http://giphy.com/gifs/reaction-26jpiPaeL2LWo Especially here.]] Notably, it was the lack of humour/comedy in his roles that prompted Jackie Chan to develop his own brand of action comedy in order to step out of Bruce's shadow.
80	* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Cuts through crowds of [[MookChivalry chivalrous mooks]], usually with only a few blows each, but his one-on-one fights last much longer.
81	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His first "big" film, ''The Big Boss'', is very different from his other films. It's a little more cartoonish (cut-out wall punch), cheesey (the big bad's demise), and very bloody in an over-the-top way.
82	* GeniusBruiser: His characters are always as intelligent as they are powerful. In real life, Lee studied philosophy in addition to ways of making himself stronger.
83	* GoodOldFisticuffs: While much of his movements are more along the lines of LightningBruiser territory, he dabbles into this at his slowest moments. A good example would be the Chuck Norris fight, where -- after a series of rapid punches and kicks -- Lee knocks Norris over with haymakers.
84	* IAmNotLeonardNimoy: Throughout his short-lived acting career, the audience almost never remembers his characters' actual names.
85	* IconicOutfit:
86	** The yellow tracksuit with black stripes that Lee wore in ''Film/GameOfDeath''. Practically every self-respecting BruceLeeClone is required to wear one if they want to pay proper homage.
87	** His shirtless tang suit pants and kung fu shoes combo from ''Film/FistOfFury'' and ''Film/WayOfTheDragon'', easily comes in as a close second.
88	* InvincibleHero: At least, when it comes to fights. His opponents rarely truly endanger him and the best of them end up as CurbstompCushion.
89	* {{Kiai}}: Lee's whooping kiais were intended to convey the power of his attacks and became a signature part of his fight scenes. Anyone who parodies kung-fu films will likely imitate them.
90	* LightningBruiser: Lee made good use of his speed when filming fight scenes, and usually portrayed his strikes as sending his opponents flying. It is heavily rumoured that Bruce Lee had to actually ''slow himself down alot'' when filming fight scenes, as the cameras at the time apparently couldn't keep up with his speed.
91	* MookChivalry: Lee's films include lots of scenes where mooks surround him and attack one at a time.
92	* MrFanservice: Has quite a following of fangirls for being athletic ''and'' good looking, particularly in his younger days.
93	* PintSizedPowerhouse: At 5'7 and about 140 pounds, he was hardly a large man, but his characters pack a whallop.
94	* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: Stuntmen usually weren't shy about throwing themselves backwards when struck by Lee's character.
95	** In RealLife Lee had developed a "one-inch punch" where his arm and fist [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin would literally move one inch]] and yet knock back the opponent several feet. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPHBkDrpOX0 He once demonstrated a six-inch punch]] that would definitely send his opponent clear across the room but he feared it could leave that opponent with cracked ribs at best.
96	* RapidFireFisticuffs: Most of his fight scenes focus on the speed at which Lee could deliver his attacks.
97	* RatedMForManly: Most of his movies are about martial arts, and can get pretty violent.
98	* ShirtlessScene: Every single one of his completed movies has at least one. You can count on him kicking a lot more ass if his top is torn or removed.
99	* ShortLivedBigImpact: Lee didn't star in very many films, and died at the age of 32, but he is widely credited with introducing martial arts films to the United States and popularizing East Asian culture. His philosophies on both martial arts and life live on to this day, and his films inspired dozens upon dozens of Bruce Lee clones.
100	* TheSilentBob: In most films, you could always tell what his character was thinking without him saying anything.
101	* SimpleYetAwesome: Lee's general approach to fighting and one of the major tenets of Jeet Kune Do was simplicity, due to having created it more for street fights than competitions and putting an emphasis on versatility over rigid form. As such, Lee's characters always go for straightforward moves such as relatively simple punches and kicks delivered with devastating strength and speed to end fights as quickly as possible.
102	* TranquilFury: Most of his films often portray his anger this way; the only time he ever expresses a berserk style reaction is when he strikes a blow to someone.
103	* TypeCasting: Lee all but became the Asian version of Creator/JohnWayne.
104	* WorldsBestWarrior: Lee's characters are all portrayed as the world's best martial artist. The man himself was incredibly fast and talented, attacking with much more speed than the cameras at the time could pick up.

Context Creator / BruceLee